you are everything I want (but more than I deserve)
by mellbell12123
Summary: The first time Darcy met her soulmate she shot him. A relationship could only go up from there, right? Not when you pair together an ex-Hydra assassin and a woman with a penchant for trouble that could rival even his best friends
1. A shot in the dark

I have 18 million other stories and I'm going into my senior year of college at the end of the month so why not start another story?! My updating schedule is gonna be slow but I will finish this (and my other stories!) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Darcy took a deep breath and planted her feet solidly on the ground before raising the gun. Her hands were steady; her breathing even, yet her finger itched hesitantly around the trigger.

She was just about to pull the trigger when she heard Natasha step up beside her, "No, малютка. Since you cannot see your target, taking too long will make you doubt yourself. Without sight, you must rely on muscle memory and your other senses. Soon it will become a second nature to you."

Darcy nodded her head and she felt Natasha push her arms back down.

"Now. Again."

* * *

Darcy moved into Avengers tower on a Saturday.

She lugged all her belongings with her, aka one suitcase, a guitar she couldn't even play, her replica Captain America shield, and her stuffed kitten, Logan, 15 blocks to the tower.

She had been bribed into moving into the tower. She hadn't wanted to move. She liked her own little apartment even though Jane often called it a death trap. But now she was moving. All because of Tony fucking Stark. That man would be the death of her.

Stark had hired Jane a month ago, much to her excitement. And when Darcy met him, she had immediately threatened to tase him as she had done Thor, if he took just one step out of line. He just replied with a smile and soon they were thick as thieves.

Within an hour of meeting they had already conspired to break into Fury's office.

And when he found out that she was living in a 2 by 4 apartment, he had demanded that she move into his tower. After refusing for a month, Stark told her that if she moved he would pay off all of her student loans. She immediately refused but not a day later she received a notice that he bills had been paid. And so now she was moving into a tower. With superheroes.

When she arrived at the tower, she was quickly stopped at security. She argued with the guard for over a half hour before he received a text message, from Tony Stark himself, claiming that she was legit. The guard apologized before pointing her in the direction of the stairway and with an exasperated sigh Darcy began her trek up to the 16th floor. It wasn't until she reached the fourth floor that a voice from the ceiling informed her that an elevator was located to her right. Without a second thought, Darcy praised the ceiling before clambering into the elevator.

The next hour was blurry. She remembered vaguely finding a door with her name on it, but she quickly fell asleep there after. It wasn't until after her nap that she realized the ceiling had talked to her. I Darcy cautiously asked who it was and Jarvis introduced himself.

To say that from that moment Jarvis and Darcy became best friends would be a vast understatement.

None of the Avengers were present in the tower and wouldn't be back for a few more days. So with no one other than Jarvis to keep her company, they quickly bonded and Darcy spent most of the day conspiring with him. Stark had trained him well.

When not creating pranks with Jarvis, she spent the rest of her time decorating her new apartment room. She hung up posters, squealed when she found kitten supplies in her closet, and hung up a whiteboard on the front of her door. Her room was on a floor with four other apartments. One was for Jane and Thor. Another was for somebody named Legolas, who she assumed was Hawkeye and not the character from Lord of the Rings. One just had an obvious spider sticker on it. And the last one was blank.

Since no other Avengers were present in the tower, not even Jane or Pepper, Darcy made herself at home. She took over the entertainment room and downloaded all of her favorite video games. She connected her Netflix to the huge theater TV screen. And she took over the kitchen. After asking Jarvis if any of the Avengers cooked, and receiving and almost amused "no" from the AI, Darcy decided to bake for everyone.

She made 5x the amount of food and left it in the freezer. Jarvis assured her that he would inform the Avengers of the food she made for them.

As the night grew closer, Darcy finished binge watching her new obsession and she retired to her new bedroom and had one of the best nights sleep of her life.

* * *

Darcy didn't think she would meet any of the Avengers for a few more days. But boy was she wrong.

That night, while she was sleeping, Natasha broke into her room and settled herself onto Darcy' couch.

The next morning, Darcy clad in her Hulk pajamas stopped short when she found the redheaded assassin sitting on her couch drinking her coffee.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you drinking my coffee?"

The woman in question put the mug down, before standing up and taking in the young woman in front of her.

"If I were Hydra you would have been dead 12 hours ago."

"Well, at least I would've gone out happy. I had a dream I was getting some love from Captain America himself. Man his tongue…"

The woman's face remained impassive, but Darcy swore she saw a little glint of amusement in her eyes, "I will train you."

Darcy raised an eyebrow before nodding her head. The woman scrutinized her for a second longer before nodding and leaving the room.

"Hey, j-man."

"Yes, Miss Darcy?"

"Who was that?"

"That was Miss Natasha Romanoff. Better known as the Black Widow."

Well, that explains a lot.

Natasha's idea of training was running 5 miles at 4 am and then retiring to the gym where they would weight train and fire guns until 8 am. Every morning, Darcy's alarm would go off and she would drag herself out of bed, hair crazy and still half asleep. She would somehow make it down to the gym, where Natasha would promptly knock her on her ass.

* * *

Darcy met the rest of the Avengers one by one.

Clint shot her with a nerf gun. Multiple times. And when she complained to Natasha, she just told her that if she paid better attention in her training she would be able to avoid getting shot.

As the days passed, he kept shooting her. She never actually saw him. He was a ghost. According to Natasha, he only traveled by way of the air vents.

One day she was talking to a cute Agent in the hall and just as she was about to get to the date asking, a nerf dart shot out and whacked her right between the eyes.

"Clint!"

A chuckle echoed from the vents and Darcy swore in that moment that she would get her revenge.

After two weeks of torture, she was at her wit's end. So with the help of Jarvis, she locked all of the vents instead of one. The one that led to Stark's private bathroom.

She knew the plan had come to compilation when Jarvis informed her that Mr. Barton had entered Mr. Stark's suite bathroom while he was in the shower.

An hour later, a pale-faced Clint arrived at her door.

" _Touché_."

Bruce met Darcy on a Tuesday.

She walked into Jane's lab finding a scruffy man bent over a microscope.

"You're scruffy and sexy and I want to adopt you."

The man's head snapped up his eyes wide as he took in the smiling woman in front of him.

And adopt him she did. Every few days she would drag him out for lunch and when they got back even though he would refuse to admit it, he always felt happier.

Captain American had been on a mission for Darcy's whole first year in the tower. to Stark, he was out looking for his best friend turned Hydra assassin.

Little did Darcy know one year into living in the tower, she would finally meet them both.

* * *

"Focus, малютка."

Darcy shook her head and quickly raised the gun again. This time instead of hesitating, her finger went straight to the trigger. But as she began to pull the trigger, the door to the gym slammed open and a loud shout caused her hand to jerk, igniting the gun.

Another loud shout rocked the room and Darcy ripped off her blindfold to see a gorgeous man standing in front of her, blood rolling down his arm.

The man glanced down at his bleeding arm before looking back up in disbelief at the woman in front of him.

"You shot me!"

Darcy's mouth was wide open as her gaze swung from the man to Natasha, the words stuck in her throat. Her arms dropped down, her one hand gripping tight to the smoking gun, her other hand running over the top of her thigh. Those words….those words had been ingrained in her mind all her life. She hadn't thought she would actually shoot somebody, she had figured it would've been a nerf dart or laser tag.

"What are the odds of you hitting his real arm instead of the one made of metal?" Natasha snorted.

Darcy turned pointing an accusing finger at Natasha, "I told you I wasn't ready!"

Another man stepped into the room and immediately went right over to the bleeding man, "What happened?"

The man raised an eyebrow before gesturing to Darcy with an amused expression, "She shot me!"

The other man turned to face the blushing Darcy, whose eyes grew wide as she recognized the man. Captain America. She shot Captain America's friend. Friend. She had shot Captain America's Best Friend aka Hydra's Best Assassin, who was also her soulmate. Just kill her now.

The Captain opened his mouth, but before he could speak Darcy ran up to him, ignoring the man beside him, not wanting to deal with that now, "It's her fault! I am so so sorry. I knew I would hurt someone. But someone," she threw a glare at Natasha, "said I needed to be taught."

"If it helps, I didn't think you'd actually shoot anybody," Natasha said with a smirk.

Without warning, a laughing Clint dropped down from a nearby vent, "Oh, I can't wait for Stark to see this footage."

"He already has," Stark said sauntering in the room with a smirk. He walked by the bleeding man, whacking him on the back, "You're even worse with women than Capsicle is."

The Captain rolled his eyes and turned to say something but was once again cut off when Stark turned to Darcy, "Spawn! Thank you for doing what I wish I had done weeks ago!"

Darcy glared at Stark, "Tony, shooting people isn't nice. We've already had this conversation."

The bleeding man scoffed, "Says the girl that shot me."

"I said I was sorry!"

"No you didn't- wait." His eyes widened as his hand flew to his ribs, Darcy's eyes following, knowing that her words were there. But before he could say another word, she was already halfway out of the room.


	2. A teddy bear with a metal arm

This story is so much fun to write I love Darcy so much and of course I love Bucky. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Bucky's heart dropped as he watched the woman, _his soulmate_ , race out of the room, _away from him_.

The gym fell into complete silence as everyone watched Bucky with bated breath. Natasha looked half pleased and half amused. Clint and Stark were glaring at Bucky. And Steve froze in shock.

After a few minutes of silence, it was Steve that ended up breaking the silence.

He reached out whacking Bucky in the chest, causing him to flinch back slightly as pain shot up his already healing arm, "That's- shit. I mean, she is-woah."

Bucky turned to Natasha and pointed out the door.

"Who was that?"

Natasha's eyebrows quirked up, an amused smirk forming on her face, "Your soulmate, apparently."

Bucky glared at her as Stark smirked, "That's-"

Clint's eyes widened as he slapped his hand across Stark's mouth, "Nope. Um, that's Darcy. Thor's girlfriend's former assistant. Our now PR director and honorary Avenger."

Steve's eyebrows shot up, "Miss. Lewis! She's the lady that I've been texting, this past year about our public relations."

Stark rolled his eyes, "Hence the title PR director."

Bucky turned to Steve with wide eyes, "You've been talking to my soulmate!"

"I didn't exactly know Buck!"

Without another glance at anybody, Bucky took off out of the room. _After his soulmate_.

"Well, who would have thought-."

"Shut up Tony."

* * *

Darcy flew out of the gym in a panic. She looked over her shoulder, hoping no one would follow after her, but as she turned the corner she found a tiny piece of her wishing that her soulmate would race at her heels. Her heart was beating out of her chest, her brain racing at what had just occurred. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. _This was her soulmate_. Soulmate meetings were supposed to be romantic. Like the movies. Like the celebrity stories. Like her parents.

Ever since her childhood, she had imagined so many different ways she would meet her soulmate. _You shot me_. She had figured that maybe she would shoot him with a nerf gun or a paint ball gun. But not once had it ever crossed her mind that she would shoot him with an _actual gun_.

She had shot her soulmate. _Shot him_. _With a gun_.

Darcy slammed into a wall with a pant, cursing herself for not listening to Natasha. She really did need to bring up her endurance. As she gasped to steady her breathing, pounding footsteps sounded down the hall and Darcy's head shot up in alarm and without a second thought, she took off running again.

"Darcy!"

For just a moment she hesitated, her footsteps stumbling as she questioned why she was even running. This was her soulmate. She had been looking for them for years. She had been dreaming about them for years. And now he was here but she found herself running away. And she didn't know why.

As she rounded the corner she came up short, almost running head first into the wall in front of her. She had somehow run right into a dead-end. She looked around her heart racing. She swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling in desperation, the sound of pounding footsteps getting closer behind her.

" _Jarvis_."

"To your right, Miss Darcy."

She swung around and caught sight of the vent on the wall. Within a second, she had it pried off the wall and quickly pulled herself up and into it, slamming it shut behind her.

" _Thank you_."

"If you would like, you may follow the green arrows on the vent floor to the exit on your floor."

The vent floor below her began to glow.

"Jarvis, have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Every day, Miss Darcy."

And Darcy began to crawl.

Once Darcy got back to her floor, she all but fell out of the vent with a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure how Clint handled crawling through those things on a daily basis. Small spaces and Darcy did not mash well.

As she walked quietly through the common area on her floor, she peeked around corners relieved to find that she was alone. When she reached for the handle of her bedroom, she caught sight of something next to her. With wide eyes, she walked over to the once blank door just inches away from her own.

On it was a picture of Buzz Lightyear holding his detached arm in his hand.

 _Goddammit, Tony_.

Her neighbor was her soulmate.

She reached out to touch the picture when a door slammed from the common room. With a startled yelp, Darcy ran across the hall and slipped into Jane and Thor's room.

And that's where she settled down for the rest of the night.

Her mind was racing. She still wasn't sure what she was thinking. Or why she ran. So instead of facing her problems head on…. she ignored them.

And the thousands of texts she was receiving.

 _ **Natasha**_ _: малютка, we will talk about this tomorrow morning. 4 am_.

 _ **Clint**_ _: hey babe, will you hold it against me if I give your soulman a stern talking to because I already wrote out a 14 page draft_

 _ **Stark**_ _: yo hot stuff im not sure im cool with you being linked to mr murder but hey who am I to judge but make it known that I will let DUM-E set him on fire if he steps just one foot out of line_

 _ **Bruce**_ _: I will fend as many people off as possible. Take as much time as you need_.

 _ **Fury**_ _: Paperwork on Monday. I do not want to know the details_.

 _ **Unknown**_ _: Miss. Lewis, it's Steve Rogers. Captain America. Your soulmate's- um friend. Bucky is a great guy and I hope you'll give him a chance. He's been through a lot. And he's been waiting for you for such a long time_.

Her soulmate was Bucky. James Buchanan Barnes. The Winter Soldier. Hydra Assassin. Captain America's best friend. The hero she had learned about in her history classes in college.

The Howling Commands had been everybody's favorite topic in college. And now she was bonded to one of them. She smiled. She couldn't wait to meet him tomorrow. Her soulmate…

But tonight was her time to be alone. Tonight she was alone with her thoughts. Jane and Thor were on Asgard so the room was hers.

She quickly slipped into some pajamas she had stashed in Jane's closet and settled herself onto the couch, flipping through the channels until she landed on one of her favorite shows. Ghost Adventures.

As the hours grew later, Darcy grew jumpier. As much as she loved this show, sometimes it got the better of her. Zak Bagan's was currently provoking a "demonic entity" when a loud bang sounded at the door the same time a voice came through on Zak's device. Darcy all but jumped out of her skin. She quickly leaned over and grabbed the baseball bat she had stashed under the couch and walked over to peek out the door.

Nothing.

She let out a little sigh, relaxing her arms, yet still keeping a firm grip on the bat.

"I'm going crazy. It's nothing."

She settled back down and continued the episode when she heard another noise. This time it was coming from the window. She had just grabbed the curtain to pull it back when the door slammed open behind her. She let out a scream and chucked the bat at the intruder, grabbing her taser out of her bra and shooting it without a second thought.

The intruder went down and Darcy's eyes went wide as she recognized the man on the ground.

"Could you please stop shooting me?"

Darcy's heart jumped as she shrieked, "I thought you were a ghost!"

The man pushed himself up, throwing her an incredulous look, " _A ghost_?!"

Darcy gestured wildly back to the TV behind her, Zak Bagan's voice screeching out as he tried to communicate with spirits.

Bucky stood up fully, shaking his metal arm, still feeling the aftershocks of the taser.

"What the fuck kind of taser was that?"

Darcy looked sheepish, "Stark."

"Ah."

Then silence filled the room. Bucky eyes roamed over Darcy, taking in her Captain America pajamas and Chewbacca slippers, as she stood there trying to figure out what to say next.

"Miss. Darcy, Miss. Romanoff would like to speak to you."

Darcy groaned, "Nope. No way. Tell her to mind her own damn business. And while we're at it…."

Darcy walked over to the closet and pulled out a broom. With a small smile at the perplexed Bucky, she put her finger on her lips asking him to be silent as she made her way over to the center of the room. She stepped up onto the couch and lifted the broom slamming it up into the ceiling.

A yelp and loud crash sounded from above and a few seconds later, a disheveled Clint's head popped out of the ceiling's vent.

" _Fuck, Darcy_!"

"You know I love you Clint so don't take this personally but please fuck off. Oh, and tell Stark to stop hacking into the room's video feed. I've seen the camera light blinking for the past hour. He's not gonna be able to get it to work. I already put up an encryption, it'll take at least 12 hours for him to crack."

Clint pouted to which Darcy rolled her eyes before pointing back toward his room.

"Fine." He sulked, crawling back into the vent.

After a few seconds of silence, Darcy looked down at Bucky and motioned to her body, "Wanna give a girl a lift? I need to check and make sure he's actually gone."

Bucky's eyebrow shot up as he silently stepped up onto the couch beside her. She held up her arms, her shirt rising a little. And as he placed his hands on her waist, his metal hand hit her skin and he flinched as he waited for her comment, but when she didn't say anything, he slowly raised her up so that she could peek into the dark vent.

"We're free!"

Bucky lowered her and she jumped down from the couch, dropping to lie back down against the fluffy couch pillows, her eyes closing with a relaxed sigh. Bucky stepped over her legs and stood awkwardly next to the couch.

Bucky cleared his throat, "So um, you can hack?"

One of Darcy's eyes opened as she glanced up at the stiff looking man, "Nah. My computer skills started and stopped in my college computer science class. I bribed one of Stark's tech guys. Plus Jarvis is on my side. Right man?"

"Of course, Miss. Darcy."

"My specialties lie elsewhere." Darcy winked.

"Specialties?"

"Need to know basis, sweetheart. You'll find out in due time. Now sit down, you're making me uncomfortable."

But Bucky just backed up, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, doll."

"No no no no no. I meant your tenseness. You don't make me uncomfortable. You look like a big teddy bear. Well, a teddy bear with a metal arm. But a teddy bear nevertheless. Now, sit. Please."

Bucky nodded and slowly made his way over to the couch, settling on the complete opposite side. Darcy spun around sitting cross-legged facing him. She stared at him expectantly as he stared at her with wide arms. And just when he went to open his mouth, his arm spazzed below him. The taser seemed to have last effects. Darcy grimaced as she bent over grabbing the Swiss army knife out of her boots that were resting beside the couch. She scooted closer and grabbed his arm, placing it in her lap. She pulled out the screwdriver from the knife, and poked at his arm with it, as he looked down with amusement.

"I hope you know, I have no idea what I'm doing. I could be making this even worse."

Bucky offered her a wide smile and Darcy responded with one of her own.

"I'm… um- sorry I ran."

Bucky's eyes flashed, "No doll, it's fine. Natural reaction when you find out your soulmate is a mass murder-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Darcy whacked him across the head with a pillow, "Excuse you. You are not allowed to use the "m" word in my house. You're a survivor and you're mine and Hydra will have another thing coming if they ever try to hurt you again. Understood?"

"Yes. Ma'am."

"Darcy."

"Yes, Darcy."

"Good. Now, is it James or Bucky?"

"Bucky."

Darcy nodded and held out her hand waiting until Bucky placed his in hers, "It's lovely to meet you Bucky."

"Nice to meet you too, doll. So you aren't afraid of me?"

Darcy's eyebrow shot up, "You? No. I know everything you did wasn't you. Fucking Hydra. They suck. They kidnapped me once. Those assholes. I tased like 15 of them."

Bucky grabbed onto Darcy's hand, her eyes jumping up to meet his, "You were kidnapped?"

"Yeah," She waved it off, "Don't worry I kicked ass. Natasha and Clint got me out in like a few days. No harm done."

"Remind me to thank the team."

Darcy's eyes narrowed, "I can take care of myself."

Bucky smiled, gesturing down at his wrapped up arm and still spazzing hand, "Yeah, I figured that out, doll. But you won't always have a weapon on you."

Darcy jumped up, "Alright. Get up."

Bucky stood up and faced Darcy, who was bouncing on her toes excited, "Alright. Attack me."

"Tomorrow. In the gym."

Darcy sighed, " _Fine_."

She flopped back onto the couch, Bucky settling down beside her, much closer than before.

"Now. Getting to know each other will continue in the morning. I'm too tired for a serious conversation. So we're gonna watch the rest of Ghost Adventures. And then be."

As Darcy started another episode, Bucky watched with wide eyes, "These men…. they talk to ghosts?"

"Yes."

"I think I'm going to like the television."

Darcy smiled at him, grabbing onto his metal hand, "This is the start of a beautiful relationship."

The hours passed and soon it was rounding 2 am. Darcy began to nod off, her head falling to rest against Bucky's shoulder. Silently, he reached over the back of the couch and pulled down the blanket, lying it over an almost asleep Darcy.

"You know I learned in college?" She muttered.

"What, doll?"

"About you guys. You and Steve. Dum Dum. Gabe. Jacques. All of you."

"Mhm." He smiled, "And I was your favorite?"

" _Actually_ , Jacques was my favorite."

"What!"

Bucky glanced down seeing a sleeping Darcy passed out against his chest. He pulled her closer and rested his head on top of hers, drifting off into sleep right behind her.

* * *

 _ **Guest** : Thank you a bunch! _

_**zzoliveyouxx** : Here is more! :D _

_**NicNick:** Ahhhh thank you! I'm definitely gonna continue! There will definitely be at least 10 chapters :D _

_**Sparrowhawk42:** Thank you! Hope you enjoy!_


	3. Past Memories

**Author's notes** : I am so so so so so so so so so sorry that I took so long to update. Work. School. Computer dying. New computer coming. Downloading stuff onto new computer. More school. More work. Applying for real life jobs because I'm apparently an adult now. But here we are. Thank you all for your kind words I love you all! And I'm officially back baby! It's such a relief to write again! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Darcy rolled over sleepily, trying to bury her head into her new fuzzy cheetah comfortable, but instead her head banged into something hard and cold. She let out a groan as she reached out poking at the cold metal, trying to determine what it was without opening her eyes. As her hand traveled along the metal it felt worryingly familiar.

" _Please_ , tell me I didn't steal Tony's suit again. _PLEASE_ , tell me I didn't steal Tony's suit again. Oh god, he's gonna kill me. Please please please please."

She peeked open one of her eyes and sighed in relief when she saw her amused assassin soulmate looking down at her.

"Thank god."

Bucky's mouth quirked up into a small smile, "Tony's suit?"

"Another day soul-sassin. Another day."

Darcy turned over trying to flop onto her back when she realized too late that she wasn't in her bed, but lying on the couch. Her eyes went wide as she tumbled over the edge heading toward the wooden floor. Bracing for impact, Darcy let out a surprised 'oof' when she hit a huge pile of pillows instead. She sat up, almost knocking into Bucky's head as he looked over the side to make sure she was alright. She gestured to the pillows and Bucky just shrugged.

"I didn't want you to get hurt if you fell off in the middle of the night."

Darcy's lip jutted out, "Oh my god." She placed her hands on his cheeks and squeezed, " _You are so mine_. Alright. First coffee. And then it's ass kicking time!"

Bucky nodded and jumped up off the couch and over Darcy. He reached down to pull her to her feet, before maneuvering around the pillow obstacle course to make his way to the kitchen.

"Freeze!"

Bucky froze and just as he began to slowly turn to face her, he felt her reach down and grab his ass. With wide eyes, he swung around catching sight of something in her hand.

"My lucky pair of underwear was stuck to your ass."

* * *

An hour later found Darcy and Bucky standing in the middle of the gym ready to fight.

Darcy jumped around excitedly and when Bucky threw her an amused glance she leveled him with a light glare claiming she was "testing out" the gym mats.

Bucky threw a glance around him watching as the rest of the team made their way into the gym settling on the sidelines to watch. Word had gotten around fairly quickly. He wasn't exactly sure how they had found out but truthfully, he wasn't surprised.

After a few minutes, Darcy let out a frustrated groan as she stared at the door, waiting for the last few stragglers to join them. Clint and Tony had yet to grace them with their presence.

Bucky stepped up onto the mats across from Darcy, watching as her face split into a beautiful smile as their eyes met. Bucky's heart warmed as he looked at this gorgeous woman before him. How had he gotten so lucky? Who in the world had given him such a wonderful soulmate? He didn't deserve her. He wished he did. But he didn't. And she deserved better. Better than him….

Bucky grunted as something whacked into his stomach and looked up meeting eyes with Darcy.

She narrowed her eyes and poked him hard in the chest, "No self-deprecating until after I kick your ass okay?"

He nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Come on! We came for a fight!" Clint screamed as he walked through the doorway into the gym. His head adorned one of those drink hats, with two yoo-hoos on either side; he lugged behind him a wagon, in which sat Tony, and 7 buckets of popcorn.

Natasha smirked stepping up between Darcy and Bucky, "Let the games begin."

* * *

Bucky slammed to the ground and looked up with wide eyes at the woman above him.

Clint flew to his feet on the sidelines, his popcorn flinging all over Bruce, "Fuck yeah you go girl!"

Tony reached over Sam, Steve's friend Darcy later found out, picking some popcorn out of Bruce's hair and popping it into his mouth.

Darcy swung around and threw a thumbs up to her supporters before gesturing to her ass, "It's my lucky underwear!"

Tony's eyebrows quirked, "The cheetah ones?"

Darcy's eyes lit up and she threw out her arms as she screamed, "YES!"

She turned back around and looked down at Bucky who was still in shock that she had gotten him down. He had underestimated her. He hadn't expected her to be this good. But she played dirty. Very dirty. Natasha had trained her well.

Tony ran out into the middle of the gym mats and grabbed Darcy's arm, throwing it up into the air, "Winner shall be rewarded with ice cream!"

"Chocolate?" Darcy said hopefully.

Tony nodded, placing his arm around her, "Of course, spawn."

He steered her out of the gym and Bucky sat up as he watched them walk away. He could faintly hear Tony complaining about her sweat as he tried to lift his arm off of her, but Darcy just sidled closer to him, and instead of pushing her away, Tony just pulled her closer as they reached the gym's doors.

Before rounding the corner, Darcy turned and threw a quick smile behind her, "See ya soulman. Hope you don't hold me kicking you ass against me."

"Never, doll. I'll catch up with you later."

As she vanished from his sight, Bucky flopped back onto the ground trying to ignore the chaos of his teammates taunting from a few feet away. All he wanted to do was sleep. But fate had other ideas.

* * *

Bucky walked out of the showers, rubbing a towel over his long wet hair. As wet drops continued to drip down his back, he was five seconds away from chopping it off with his pocket knife, which he knew would make Steve happy.

He had just rounded the corner when arms reached out dragging him into a dark room. He fell into a chair and blinked as a bright light shone in his eyes.

"ебать копать, Таша!

"Дарси, моя сестра. Ты причинил ей боль, ты мертв."

 _1 year ago:_

 _Not even one month in moving into Stark tower and the building had already been attacked four times._

 _After the third time, Darcy was a pro. She knew what to do and where to go. And so when Jarvis told her that someone else had broken into the building, she had just groaned and grabbed Jane by her shirt before locking them down in the lab._

 _Darcy sat pouting on a lab table worried about the cookies she had in the oven. As the hours passed, her concerns shifted from her cookies to the tower. It had never taken this long for the team to take down the attackers._

 _She figured everything was going fine until she received a message from Jarvis that Natasha was under attack and needed assistance. Jarvis informed her that no one else could assist her so Darcy took action._

 _Jane still calls it her stupidest decision ever. But Darcy felt pretty bad ass._

 _Darcy snuck out of the lab, grabbing the hidden gun behind the lab fume-hood before taking off down the hall. She wasn't exactly sure where to go, so she followed the screaming. Yet she seemed to run into everyone except Natasha. She found Clint dangling from the ceiling. She found Tony half dressed in the Iron Man suit. She found Bruce drinking some coffee. She found Fury fighting with a sword (she knew he was secretly a pirate…no one wears an eyepatch if they aren't a pirate)._

 _A few minutes later, she rounded a corner watching as Natasha took down man after man after man. She watched as some attackers snuck up behind her and Darcy raised the gun shooting them down without a second thought. Once Natasha took down the last guy she turned to face Darcy._

" _Did I do that right?"_

 _Natasha nodded._

 _From that moment Darcy and Natasha were inseparable. Natasha taught her how to fight. Darcy taught her how to cook. Natasha didn't treat her like she was stupid. Darcy treated her as a human being. Natasha hummed her to sleep when she had nightmares. Darcy made her calming tea when she was stressed._

"Вы понимаете?"

Bucky nodded and Natasha's eyes narrowed before she nodded. And without another word she slinked back into the darkness disappearing from view.

* * *

Bucky stood up slowly and began to walk around the dark room trying to find the exit. When he finally reached the handle, and pulled open the door, he found himself in yet another darkened room. Just as Bucky took a step backwards, a figure stepped out of the darkness dragging with him a wheelie chair

"Sit." Clint said shoving the chair across the floor. Bucky dropped down and settled in.

 _1 year ago_ :

 _Clint had a habit of getting hurt. He wasn't sure why but he was the most accident-prone person on the face of this earth. Broken nose. Broken ribs. Sprained ankle. Dislocated shoulder. Concussion. Bruised toes._

 _Typically, he'd call Natasha to keep him company. She was one of the few who could stand his never ending complaining. However, when he needed her most she vanished on a mission. So, this time he was stuck all alone. Or so he thought. A certain brunette shoved her way into his life._

" _Alright. I got Cheetos. Every season of Charmed on DVD. Cards. Playdough. Fuzzy socks. Some Lewis Family smoothies. An easy bake oven. A suction cup archery set. And a stuffed Natasha doll."_

 _Clint rolled over, groaning as he pulled at his stitches, and watched as Darcy Marie Lewis walked through his apartment door._

" _How did you get in here?"_

" _Should we start at Season One or after Prue dies. Truthfully, it depends for me. I'm a huge fan of Chris so I usually start at his episodes. But we can start wherever you like." She jumped up onto his bed with him and passed him a smoothie._

" _Do you mind?" She gestured to the remote and turned on the TV._

 _Ten minutes later, Darcy looked over finding Clint staring at her in disbelief._

" _What?"_

" _You don't even know me."_

" _You're Clint."_

 _Clint rolled his eyes, "That's not what I meant."_

 _Darcy shrugged, "Doesn't matter. We're best friends now."_

"She's a part of my family. My long-lost sister. She would follow me into hell without a second thought, because that's the kind of person she is. She's been through enough, she doesn't need any more shit in her life."

And with that Clint shoved a fourteen-page essay into Bucky's hand and walked out the door without a second thought.

* * *

Bucky slowly backed out of the room before he took off sprinting. As he rounded the corner he found himself in the living room, but he could even take another step, a warm hand settled onto his shoulder, spinning him around.

"Cookie?" Bruce offered, before pushing Bucky to sit down onto the couch.

Bruce stared at Bucky.

Bucky stared at Bruce.

About 10 minutes later, Bucky raised his hand, the cookie still resting between his fingers, gesturing for Bruce to get on with it.

 _1 year ago:_

 _Darcy didn't care that Bruce was the Hulk. She wasn't afraid of him. In fact, she had somewhat of a liking for the other man (no not monster, Bruce). She thought he was badass. Bruce obviously did not hold these same beliefs but trying to change Darcy's mind was next to impossible._

 _To Darcy's sorrow, one month into living with the Avengers, she still hadn't met the Hulk._

 _It wasn't until the third month that he finally made an appearance._

 _And to say Darcy and the Hulk hit it off would be an understatement._

 _Bruce hulked out in the middle of a conference in the tower. No one was exactly sure what happened. One second he was fine. The next he was all green and muscly._

 _Apparently, everyone knew what to do if Bruce hulked out. That is everyone, except for Darcy. Within a minute, everyone in the room was gone. Except for Darcy. She just sat at the table staring as the Hulk smashed all the windows._

 _When he finally noticed her presence, he growled at her._

" _Grrrr, yourself mister."_

 _With a grunt, the Hulk dropped down to sit beside her. Darcy scooted closer and began telling him the story of the Ugly Duckling. Hulk immediately quieted down and listened closely as she told her favorite children's story._

 _One hour later, the SHIELD agents were able to break into the room and to their surprise they found Darcy dancing on top of the Hulk's stomach while singing Rihanna's Umbrella._

"She makes me feel human. She calms me down. I'm not going to tell you not to hurt her because I know you won't. But when something happens, and it will happen, don't push her away. Hold her close and never let go. Understood?"

Bucky nodded and Bruce smiled.

* * *

Bucky slipped into the elevator after his talk with Bruce, the cookie still tight in his grasp. He leaned back against the wall and took in a deep breath. He knew they loved Darcy and he didn't blame them. He was jealous they had a whole year with her. He was just getting to know her now, when all of his teammates had already formed relationships with her.

A few minutes later, Bucky realized the elevator wasn't going to his floor.

"Jarvis?"

"Miss Darcy is our family."

"Fuck."

"I do not need to inform you that I have control of everything in this tower. I see all. I do all. Keep that in mind, Mr. Barnes."

The elevator jerked down and the doors finally opened. Bucky peeked out finding himself on a floor he was unfamiliar with. Not a second later, a robot came rolling quickly around the corner and stopped in front of him. It grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him down the hall and into a room. It held out another arm and fire shot out of it.

"Dum-E, I didn't mean literally set him on fire."

Bucky held out his hand, "Cookie?"

Tony shook his head, "Thank you murder strut. But that isn't getting you out of this talk."

 _1 year ago_ :

 _Tony believed that Darcy was his long last child. If it weren't for her parents claiming she was truly theirs and the four DNA tests he had run, he would have adopted her on the spot. Truthfully, he still wanted to adopt her. Especially when she dragged him into her epic pranks._

" _Yo, Stark!"_

" _Yeah, spawn?"_

" _Fury was pissing me off today, wanna help me get him back?"_

" _Oh, it's on."_

 _An hour later found Tony and Darcy picking the lock to Fury's office. As they argued over how to properly pick a lock, footsteps sounded behind them and they both froze. A throat cleared and they peeked over their shoulders finding Coulson standing there with a blank expression._

" _There's a key in the flower pot on the wall." He said before turning on heel and leaving._

 _Darcy's eyes widened as she walked over to the pot and plucked out the key._

" _Jackpot."_

 _The next hour and a half was used to cover every inch of Fury's office with pictures of Grumpy Cat wearing an eyepatch. A stuffed Grumpy Cat toy sat at his desk. They took turns taking pictures of themselves posing on the desk. Hanging out the window. Sitting with the cat in their lap. Stark said they needed evidence and something to remember it by. It was their first prank. It was going to be a legend._

"That girl is my life. She's mine in all but blood. She feeds me. She hugs me. She hits me when I'm being stupid. She tells me when I'm being a bitch. You make her sad just once and you're done. Understood?"

Bucky nodded.

* * *

After Tony ordered Dum-E to release him, Bucky ran out of the lab deciding to never set foot in that lab ever again, even if his life depended on it.

"Mr. Barnes."

Bucky's eyes widened as he turned.

"Miss Lewis has on numerous occasions proven to be an exceptional person. We have been trying to recruit her for years but she has her own dreams. I can only hope that she remains on our side. Do try to keep her out of trouble. I know you do the best you can for Steve Rogers so maybe you're the one who can actually succeed. Just know I do not need to threaten you. Miss Lewis will beat your ass if you do anything to hurt her."

Bucky swallowed as Director Fury took a step forward, "Do you understand?"

Bucky nodded and Director Fury spun on his heel, his black coat sweeping out behind him as he stalked down the hall.

* * *

"Natasha!" Darcy called as she saw the woman slink out of one of the empty rooms on the lab floor.

The woman in question turned around with a quirked eyebrow.

"Where's Bucky?"

Natasha shrugged and Darcy narrowed her eyes as a certain sparkle shone deep in her eyes. With suspicious eyes, Darcy peeked through the window on the door trying to see into the dark room. When she caught sight of nothing illegal, she turned back around, but Natasha was already gone.

"Well, that can't be good."

* * *

Bucky collapsed onto the couch in his room. He peeked an eye open catching sight of the clock on his coffee table. Six hours. They had given him the shovel talk for six hours. His head was throbbing. He didn't even know it was possible to have a headache.

He had just closed his eyes when he heard the door to his apartment door open. He let out a long groan.

"Whoever you are, if you're here to kill me, have the decency to be quick about it so I can get back to my rest."

He opened his eyes slowly.

Steve and Sam grinned down at him.

Sam snorted, "You have your shit cut out for you."

" _I know_."

* * *

" _GUYS I SAID DON'T TORMENT MY SOULMATE IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!"_

" _WE DID NO SUCH THING."_

" _I refuse to acknowledge that I had any part in this."_

" _Did he read my essay?"_

* * *

Author's notes: So anyways I should be updating much more frequently. Also don't know if anyone else is a fan of Tamora Pierce but I borrowed one of her lines from one of my favorite books of hers so if you catch it let me know! Next chapter should be up next week!

Russian:

ебать копать, Таша!

– "Equivilant to Jesus Christ but with the word Fuck", Tasha!

 _Дарси, моя сестра. Ты причинил ей боль, ты мертв._

– Darcy is my sister. You hurt her, you're dead

Вы понимаете?

– Do you understand?

Next up: Darcy and Bucky bonding time and then someone (SOMEONE aka GUESS WHO) freaks out and cue DRAMA


	4. Bonding and Fire

Author's Notes: *Insert me apologizing profusely for taking forever to update* But I had 6 classes this past semester and then I graduated college and now I'm trying to find a job and I'm really not liking adult life... but here is a chapter and if you read my other stories they will be updated as well...I won't be abandoning anything it might just take some time to update things bc well life. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and Happy New Year everyone! I love you all. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Bucky woke to the sound of banging. He shot out of bed, his head snapping toward the door. Silence reigned throughout the apartment and for a second Bucky believed it had all been a dream. But then another loud bang shook the walls. Bucky slipped over to the door and peeked down the hall. No one was supposed to have access to his room. He had made Tony swear (while holding his liquor hostage) that he would have complete privacy. It was only when Tony showed him Jarvis's coding for his room did he accept the answer and give Tony his alcohol back.

As the banging got louder, Bucky made his way down the hall. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his knife before rounding the corner ready to strike.

"Hey! Could you hold the ladder for me?"

"Clint, what are you doing here?"

"Darcy-proofing your apartment."

"…. Darcy-proofing?"

"Yep. You'll thank me later. Now, hold the ladder, will you? I still need to go make waffles for Tasha and I'm already 50 minutes late to work."

* * *

Darcy was having a shit day. She had gotten yelled at by no less than fourteen different news outlets. She'd gotten cheese on her favorite blouse when an agent whacked into her with his cheese fries. She'd lost her shoe to a banana incident she refused to talk about. Jane had been back one day and had already set fire to her new lab four times. Darcy hadn't slept in 40 hours. And here she found herself slumped over a desk next to Jane's workbench, a fire extinguisher at the ready.

"Spawn, are you alive?"

Darcy groaned, "Does the pale glow of the lab lights make me look hot?"

She felt something poke her face and opened her eyes finding Tony trying to push her hair back from her face with a candy cane, "A hot mess. You need sleep."

"Thanks."

Tony reached over picking up a piece of her hair, finding some type of machine oil in it, "And a shower."

Darcy nodded and pushed herself out of her chair, her legs groaning at their first movement in 10 hours. As she trudged slowly to the lab doors, Tony grabbed the fire extinguisher from her hands before pushing her off in the _actual_ direction of the door.

Darcy stumbled down the hallway, somehow making it into the elevator and up to her floor. She slammed into her door with relief. As she reached for the handle, she looked at Bucky's door for a moment before looking down at her rumpled clothing. She knew he wouldn't care but she felt nasty. How was she supposed to seduce her soulmate with nasty breath and dirty clothes?

So, after a quick shower, which had been more of a 10-minute power nap under hot water, she shrugged into her Hulk pajamas and one of Tony's old sweatshirts before sneaking into the kitchen. She looked both ways and pulled open the freezer.

"I know for a fact _you are not_ stealing Tasha's favorite ice cream again."

Darcy swung around as the voice startled her and chucked a spoon at the perpetrators head.

Clint moved out of the way and raised an eyebrow at her as she wielded another spoon at his face.

"You don't mention this and I won't tell everyone about the time you dressed up as cupid and shot yourself in the ass with your heart-shaped arrow."

Clint groaned, "You may proceed."

Darcy bundled the ice cream up to her chest and took off towards Bucky's room. She frowned as she tried to balance the ice creams in one hand so that she could knock on the door. Finally managing to balance them all against her body, she leaned against the door knocking loudly. However, when the door opened, the ice creams began to tumble out of her hand and Darcy screamed falling to the ground to save them, "My ice cream!"

Jumping back up she met her soulmates chiseled ass stomach.

"Oh, that is so not fair." She said as she reached out to poke it, "Shit, it's real."

The man in question laughed as Darcy met his amused eyes.

"Alright, this is yours." She said plopping a cold gallon into his hand before sliding past him and dropping herself down onto the couch and digging into her own gallon.

"Can you please put on a shirt or something. Anything. I can't jump your ass yet. We haven't even been on a date yet. And I...wait. Did Clint _Darcy-proof your place_?"

Bucky's eyes went wide and he nodded.

Darcy's eyes narrowed, before she smiled, "Good! I don't want to break any of your stuff. Clint still won't forgive me for breaking his favorite bow."

Before he could even say a word, she turned around flinging her arms out, her eyes wide, "I promise it was an accident I was just trying to kill a huge spider…. which also turned out to be Natasha's pet. So, let's just say I wasn't allowed back into their apartment until I baked them each enough food to live off of for five years."

* * *

Darcy lay on the couch, her legs thrown over Bucky's legs, his fingers drawing random designs on her thighs as she caught him up on her 20 some years of life.

"I was a normal child. Mom and Dad. Older sister. Younger brother. Typical middle child syndrome. Since I was 5, I never wanted a soulmate. My parents had a happy marriage and everything but for some reason, I didn't want what everyone else had. It all just seemed too boring and easy. I've had your words on me since the moment I was born. From the moment, I could read and actually understand the words, I knew you were out there. It wasn't until I turned 15 and realized how alone I actually was, that I realized it wasn't weak to have a soulmate. And turns out my soulmate is a fucking god, so definitely glad I decided to follow destiny."

Bucky smiled sadly, "I remember the day your words appeared on my skin. I was 25. I don't know why they showed up then but I knew in that moment that I would forever give myself fully to you. Steve had had his words his whole life and I had always felt my life just wasn't complete since I didn't have any of my own. I thought I was the outcast. I would go out on dates, but it didn't feel right knowing they had their own soulmates out there. And then the war happened and a part of me was glad I didn't have words because there was a chance I wouldn't come back and I didn't want anybody to feel the loss that my mother had felt when she lost my dad. But then your words appeared on my skin and I just gave myself fully to you. I didn't even know you, but just knowing you were out there helped me survive."

His eyes grew dark.

"But then I remember getting swept up into everything Steve was doing. And then I remember falling. The moment my hand slipped, I knew I lost you. That I would never meet you."

He felt her hand brush across his cheek and leaned into it.

"But you did."

His head lifted up and he met her eyes, "I did."

* * *

"DARCY MARIE LEWIS WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FOUND YOUR SOULMATE?! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME?!"

Darcy rolled her eyes as she leaned back into her chair, propping her feet up on Coulson's desk. The man threw her a glare and she offered him a cheeky wink at which he scowled and went back to his work.

A loud huff sounded across the room and Darcy's head flopped back over the chair catching sight of a disheveled Jane pacing back and forth on the carpet, "You were on Asgard, Jane."

Her arms flew out wide and Thor ducked out of the way as he continued to scoff down the homemade pop tarts Darcy had made him.

"A call would have been nice. Or even a text. You could have fucking telegrammed me for all I care. Pray to Thor or something. Pray to fucking Loki and I hate that man! You know he likes you for whatever reason, he would have told me! Literally anything. I can't believe this."

"Well, I for one believe this to be wondrous news!" Thor yelled, spewing pieces of pop tart all over the floor. Darcy could hear Coulson groan behind her as more crumbs fell to the floor as Jane reached over and aggressively brushed crumbs out of Thor's beard.

"No! I will not tolerate this under my roof."

Darcy rolled her eyes and jumped up grabbing Jane's arm and pulling her out onto the little porch across from Coulson's desk.

"We're outside."

Jane's eyes narrowed and she pointed toward the sky, "The sky is my roof. I'm the fucking God of Thunder's wife."

"She has a point."

Darcy peeked around Jane and locked eyes with an expressionless Coulson.

"I will chuck my shoe at you again. "

"Don't make me call your mother, _again_."

Darcy froze. _Shit._

* * *

" _Mom, I found my soulmate."_

" _We're adopting him."_

" _The fuck? You haven't even met him yet."_

" _Does he cook?"_

" _He made me an omelet."_

" _Yep. We're adopting him."_

" _Jesus Christ, mom."_

 _"Make sure you bring him for the holidays. Oh...Darce, I have to go, your father set fire to the roof again."_

* * *

After the phone call with her mother, Darcy took a much-needed 8-hour nap only to awaken by Jarvis who reminded her what day it was.

"It's game night, bitches!"

Tony shot up from behind the couch, a screwdriver hanging out of his mouth.

"I thought that was on Thursday?" He mumbled.

Darcy rolled her eyes chucking an x-box controller at his head, "It is fucking Thursday, Tony."

Tony's eyes lit up and the screwdriver fell out of his mouth. He scrambled over to the couch and all but pushed Bucky off, "Move, murder-cat I need to get prepared to kick her ass."

Darcy had made her way around the couch and smirked turning around slapping her ass, "This ass?"

Bucky's eyes went to her ass and Tony glared at him, "I'm only just starting to like you. So, I know you didn't just look at my basically-daughter's ass."

Darcy's eyebrow went up and she reached over grabbing Bucky's hand and placed it on her ass, not breaking eye contact with Tony.

Tony slapped his hand over his eyes, "I'm going to pretend that didn't happen."

Darcy rolled her eyes and shoved her way onto the couch next to Tony. Bucky took a place on the floor by her feet, leaning up against her leg.

"What's game night?"

Darcy smiled, "Only the best night of the week! I created it my first month here because no one ever talked to each other. It was driving me insane. So, daily dinners and weekly game night. Even monthly fancy dinner night gives me an excuse for when Tony asks why I stole his credit card to buy another dress."

* * *

 _I know you didn't fucking blue shell me, Natasha._

 _Tony, I swear to fucking god if you push me off of rainbow road one more time I am going to throw you out the window._

 _Jarvis, you aren't allowed to play that's cheating._

 _SHE'S AN ASTROPHYSA-WHATEVER HOW IS SHE THIS GOOD?_

 _Please place the Wii remote strap around your wrist, we've already broken 3 TV's._

 _Bucky Bucky Bucky Bucky...psssst, what's Steve's weakness?_

 _SAMANTHA. **MY NAME IS SAM, TONYA.**_

* * *

Game Night Ratings – Number of Games Won:

Jane 20  
Natasha 18  
Sam 17  
Darcy 14  
Tony 11  
Clint 8  
Pepper 5  
Steve 3  
Thor 1  
Bucky 1

* * *

At 3 am the phone rang. Darcy sat up, her head pounding. She crawled over to the wall and grabbed a broom, knocking the phone off the wall. She picked it up and pushed the button.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Lewis!"

"Nooooooo," She groaned pulling the phone away from her head, "too loud."

Fury all but growled on the other end of the line, "I expect every single Avenger present at the 7am meeting. _On time_. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clear as a ghost, bro."

The line buzzed and Darcy dropped the phone onto the ground, quickly following as she once again passed out.

When she woke up again. It was 6am. And things were on fire.

 _Fire._

Flames licked up the couch and Darcy blinked her eyes, wondering if she was just imagining things. As she pulled herself to her feet, Dum-E came rolling around the corner, pushing her out of the way and used the fire extinguisher to blow out the fire.

The living room was completely trashed. The couch was burnt. The TV had writing all over it. Food was stuck to the ceiling. Glitter littered the ground. Tony was passed out against the window. The vent open, Clint's legs sticking out. Sam, Steve, and Bucky were piled up on the couch opposite of the flame-ridden one. Pepper looked relaxed in the recliner in the corner. And Thor and Jane seemed to be missing. And Natasha –

"Ms. Lewis."

Darcy groaned at the voice behind her, "We're not late yet."

"Has the world ended?"

"No, we just live like this now."

* * *

Darcy somehow managed to wake everyone up with just enough time to get them to the meeting room. Dark bags littered their faces and their clothes were rumpled. Tony had a growing bruise on his cheek. Steve's hair stuck up like a child's spiked hair.

"Ms. Lewis, what did you do to my agents?"

"Nope. Not agents." Tony grumbled, his face plastered on the clear table.

As Fury began to brief the group on the newest disaster, Darcy sunk into her chair and zoned out as she took a look around the room.

"Hey, um..."

Fury glared at her, but she held up her finger, before counting everyone, "Where's Natasha?"

Everyone's eyes furrowed as they looked around. Clint pulled out his phone as everyone began to talk. Fury looked at his computer. Coulson messaged Hill asking if Natasha was back on base.

Darcy's phone buzzed in her pocket and she slipped out of the room without anyone noticing and took off down the hall, moving into a side room and pulling out her phone.

The front screen blinked a message from an unknown number.

Clinking on the link, her phone screen filled with a pet shop's page.

Darcy scrolled in confusion until one of the cat's names on the page caught her eye.

 _Loki._

* * *

Next up: Loki makes an appearance, Natasha is still missing, Sam hates life, and Darcy and Bucky share a first ;) ...


	5. Mischief and Kisses

Author's Notes: Alright so in this story Loki didn't murder people he's just a fucking asshole, lies all the time, and is mischievous as hell and everyone hates him

People that live in the Tower: Darcy, Steve, Bucky, Tony, Pepper, Jane, Thor, Natasha, Sam, Clint, Bruce, Jarvis counts and (Loki has a room when he wants it) (Pietro, Wanda, and Vision live in apartment nearby) (T'Challa and the rest are in Wakanda obvi)

* * *

"Loki! I know you can fucking hear me. Get your mischievous butt down here, right now!"

The man in question appeared before her, a huge smile lighting up his face, "Darcy, how I have missed you."

He bowed before her but instead of replying with one of her usual curtsey's, Darcy took a pillow off her bed and whacked him over the head.

"What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do. To. Natasha?"

The man backed up, his hands raising up in surrender as the woman stalked toward him. Darcy dropped her pillow and poked him hard in the chest, " I swear if you dropped her in another volcano, I will let Clint shoot you this time."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed, "The spider? I know not of what you speak. I have not encountered her in many years."

Darcy's shoulders slumped. Having spent so much time with him, she knew when he was lying. And he wasn't lying. She let out a deep sigh. If Loki didn't have Natasha, then she had no idea where she was.

"So, if you don't know where she is, why did I get this?" She pulled up the clue from Natasha and showed it to him.

But he just shrugged, plucking the phone from her hand, "If you are truly worried, I will do some reconnaissance to find out where your spy is."

Darcy sighed, nodding her head. Loki brushed a hand over her head, "Do not worry, sister. The spider is a formidable warrior. I will be back." He said as he began to fade away.

However, before he disappeared completely, the door to her bedroom slammed open, "Lady Darcy! You vanished from the room of meetings. Your soul-warrior was worried, so we came to find you. I was...brother?"

* * *

Darcy dragged an irritated Loki by the hand, out of her room. Bucky followed close at her side, his hand brushing against her arm as he kept his eyes focused on the strange black-haired man. He hadn't said a word since arriving at her room, but she could tell that he had a million questions she would be answering later that night.

Thor smiled wide as he chattered on aimlessly about Jane, all but vibrating with happiness at the presence of his brother.

Darcy wasn't sure how this was going to go down once they made it back to the meeting room. To say that Loki and the Avengers didn't get along would be a vast understatement. To be fair, Loki was an asshole. He had caused them more trouble than not in the few years they had known each other. Fury had all but banned him from the premises. Tony had forbidden his presence in his tower. The only people who liked him in any form were Darcy and Thor.

With a deep breath, Darcy rounded the corner and entered the meeting room of chaos. Everybody was circled around the table arguing. Screens were flashing with security footage and papers were being passed around. It wasn't normal for an agent to go missing. Especially since Fury was claiming that he had not sent her anywhere. Not that Clint believed him.

Darcy stood in the doorway silently. Not one of them noticed when she stepped through the doorway, the god of mischief at her side. They really needed to start paying attention to their surroundings.

"Ahem."

"Hey, Darcy." A collective hello quickly echoed through the room and everyone continued their work as Darcy stood there silently waiting for them to realize she wasn't alone. After a beat. And then two. The room fell silent and everybody froze turning to look at her. With a smile, she elbowed Loki and he wiggled his fingers in greeting.

Clint stood up quickly, his hand moving toward his gun. Bucky stiffened feeling the tension in the room, his gaze flickering between Clint's weapon and Darcy, unsure of if she was in danger or not.

Tony groaned, "Please tell me I'm imagining things. I'm like four days past my bedtime so I hope to god this is just a horrible nightmare."

Darcy ignored Tony and focused on the other Avengers, "Natasha sent me a little message. I thought it had something to do with Mr. Asshole over here but turns out it doesn't."

Clint's teeth were gritted, "And we know this how?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "I wish to offer my assistance in any way. I can do a sweep of the country and see if I can find your spider. Since you are clearly limited in resources and do not have the skills needed to find her."

Tony snorted, "Being an asshole all the time doesn't make you helpful it just makes you an asshole."

Darcy growled, "Tony be nice. He is just trying to help."

Loki stared at him blankly, eyes roved up and down as if he found Tony unimpressive, "It would take me not even a second to murder you and I wouldn't have to even lift a finger."

Darcy could feel the beginnings of a headache start to throb in her temples, "Loki, manners."

Loki sighed, "Sorry. Can I politely murder you?"

Tony gasped loudly, "Don't joke about murder, I was murdered once and it offends me."

Bucky reached out wrapping an arm around her waist and turning her slightly into his body, "How do you two even know each other?"

Loki smirked and Darcy rolled her eyes.

* * *

 _A few years earlier:_

Darcy had been on Asgard for about a week and to say she was bored was an understatement.

For the past year and a half, Darcy had been left behind as Jane and Thor journeyed to Asgard month after month, leaving her to sulk on the couch watching Doctor Who reruns and eating Thor's beloved poptarts. But this time, she was finally allowed to visit Asgard. Because Jane was getting married.

Darcy dreamed of the realm. The beautiful dresses. The glittering balls. The breathtaking palace. The vibrant gardens. The kind Asgardians. The badass warriors.

But she got none of that.

All because she accidentally set a little fire to some curtains.

It wasn't her fault. I mean who places candles right next to flammable fabric?

So, while Jane got to waltz around parading as a royal princess in a beautiful dress, Darcy was locked away in her room. And although her room was bigger than her parent's whole house, it still felt like a prison. So, naturally, she decided to escape.

It wasn't difficult. All it took was one tiny little bribe. After hours of begging the guard at her door to let her out, she gave up and began snacking on some kit-kats she had smuggled onto Asgard. On her third one, she noticed her guard eyeing the chocolate candy for the corner of his eye. With a smile, she held one out to him.

"If you let me out, I will give you all the kit-kats you want."

And that is how she found herself in the palace's library, with a stern warning glare from her new favorite guard.

Within a few hours, Darcy had surrounded herself with at least two dozen books she couldn't wait to read, her nose buried deep within her second novel.

"You know that book is not meant for mortal eyes."

"Bite me."

"It would be my pleasure."

A slim white hand reached out and plucked the book from her hands. Darcy raised her head with a glare, meeting bright green eyes.

"I know you are not my brother's beloved, yet I thought Odin stated that the other mortal was to be confined to her room."

Darcy rolled her eyes, "Well, clearly I don't take too kindly to being told what to do"

She held out her hand as if expecting him to give the book back, but he just looked her up and down curiously.

"How did you get out?"

Darcy snatched the book back and flipped quickly to the page she had been on and began reading once again, "Your staff breaks like a child when offered a piece of candy."

Silence befell the room and Darcy continued reading as Loki took a place in the chair across from her and began reading his own book, throwing curious glances at the mortal across from him from time to time.

* * *

 _Darcy's lower lip jutted out, as her arms crossed over her chest, "No."_

Loki, the mysterious man Darcy had met in the library, and someone who had quickly become one of the most infuriating people she had ever met, gestured to her, "I agree with the mortal, mother. I am not watching over her."

The Queen, scoffed, "Loki, behave. I would do it myself, but I am going away for a few days. Jane and Thor will be busy with wedding preparations. And I cannot leave her on her own."

"Um, yes you can?" Darcy piped in but the Queen just shot her a gently stern look before turning back to her son.

Loki sighed deeply, his eyes twitching as he took in the young mortal in front of him, "Fine. But if I do this, I don't want to take part in the wedding."

"Loki, you are going to your brother's wedding." The Queen chastised.

The Queen and Prince stared each other down until the man finally sighed.

The prince's shoulders dropped and the Queen smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead as he tried to shy away.

"I hope the two of you behave."

* * *

 _They did not behave._

Loki was an asshole and Darcy hated him. A few days earlier she would have been thrilled to find someone with magic. Harry Potter had been her childhood. She couldn't even count the number of times she had tried to use spells. But Loki was an asshole. And used his magic to torment her. He would clone himself. He would turn invisible. He would vanish instantly, leaving her alone near man-eating plants. He would make the palace halls into mazes causing her to get lost for hours.

But what Loki didn't expect was Darcy fighting back.

It took Darcy a little while but she managed to replace every single thing in Loki's room with Hello Kitty stuff.

She told Thor that Loki wanted to wear something special for his wedding and Thor had a full costume made for him.

She had managed to smuggle her iPod into his room and would leave it on annoyingly loud rap music.

She even got him in trouble with both his mother and his father.

However, after a week of torturing each other, they realized that instead of wasting their energy terrorizing each other, they could put their mischievous heads together and turn their terror on others.

The next month and a half were one of annoyance for the citizens of Asgard.

Since Loki was Darcy's escort, she was finally allowed to go places. Feasts. Balls. Meetings.

At feasts, Darcy would distract guests while Loki would use his magic to turn their food into snakes or cause their drinks to squirt in their faces.

During balls, Loki would turn himself into Darcy and dance with Asgardian men who found her attractive, only to turn back into himself at the end, wishing he could capture the looks of horror on their faces.

To say Darcy and Loki were best friends by the end of her stay was correct. Darcy was sad to go. And Loki was sad to see her go.

"Bye Darcy." Darcy held onto Jane tightly.

Her once boss and now best friend, held onto her tight and Darcy wasn't sure she wanted to let go, "Please visit."

"I will."

"Good morrow, Lady Darcy. You shall be missed... Well, maybe not by all."

Darcy glanced at Heimdall before glancing past him once more looking for the other man she wanted to say goodbye to.

"Um, I guess it's time to go now..."

"Without saying goodbye to me?"

Darcy smiled before turning around, the man in question appearing before her, a wide smile on his face.

"Goodbye sister."

"Bye Loki."

Once she returned to Earth, Loki kept in contact with her through a magic bracelet that he and his mother had crafted for her.

* * *

"Well that was a nice story time and all, but I still don't understand why horny is here. Thor, I want your brother to-"

Loki scoffed, not waiting for Tony to finish his sentence, "I am here because of Darcy."

Tony held up a finger, "Did I ask you?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "You know it's really rude to talk while I'm interrupting."

"Oh, I'm sorry that long ass story wasn't done?

"Tony." Darcy said rubbing her temples.

The two men began to bicker and Darcy turned into Bucky, banging her head against his chest.

"Enough." Fury stated stepping forward, "Suit up. Go investigate the clue Ms. Lewis received. Report back here tomorrow morning. 6 am sharp."

The team nodded and began to disperse. Fury started toward the door but stopped short before fully leaving, "And you." He motioned toward Loki, "If I hear one infraction from you, you will end up in a special room I've had reserved for you for years."

Bucky glanced down at Darcy questioningly and she gave him a nod. He threw one last glance at Loki before pressing a kiss to her cheek and leaving quickly to get dressed.

Once the room was clear of everyone except Darcy and Loki, she turned toward the god and glared at him, "Can't you play nice for once in your life? Sometimes I don't know why I'm friends with you."

Loki smirked, "So tell me all about your soulmate."

* * *

Darcy stood inside the conference room waiting for everyone to get back. After catching Loki up on her soulmate business, he had vanished to do some of his own investigating. She relaxed against the table when she felt a hand brush down her back. The scent of leather filled her senses and she turned toward to man behind her, burying her face in his chest.

"Ow."

Bucky tried to pull back but Darcy just held on tighter, "No, sorry. Your armor is rough as fuck. I'm good."

The man let out a soft chuckle, "Alright, doll. Or should I call you honorary goddess of mischief."

"My mischief days are behind me."

"I hate to call you a liar, doll...but..."

* * *

All of the Avengers at a pet store was definitely going to make the front of the newspaper the following morning.

Within a second of entering the store, almost all of the heroes got distracted by an animal. Thor settled himself near the puppies claiming they would be fine hunting dogs. Clint perched near the birds and began singing nursery rhymes with them. Sam had at least four bunnies in his arms. Tony stood in the complete center of the store, avoiding all contact with any animal.

Steve was the only one who sought out the store owner.

And Bucky.

Bucky sat in the corner cuddling a small looking pure white cat.

Taking in her surroundings like Natasha taught her, Darcy looked for anything out of the ordinary. The animals. The food. The toys. It looked like a typical pet store. There was only one worker on. Nothing seemed Hydra-like. So, why had Natasha sent the team here. There had to be something she was missing.

After a few minutes of looking around, Steve sidled up alongside Darcy, "The store owner has no idea what any of this is about. He doesn't know who Natasha is. He did say they have a cat named Loki, but apparently, he's been here for a few years."

Darcy shook her head, "This doesn't make any sense." Putting on a friendly smile, Darcy made her way over to the anxious-looking pet store owner.

"Hi! I saw you have a cat named Loki online, do you mind if I meet him?"

The owner glanced at the heroes in his store before turning back to Darcy and nodding. He motioned for her to wait and not a second later he came back with a calico cat in his hands.

"Thank you! He is precious."

Darcy gently took the cat into her arms and walked over to the side of the room sitting down on the bench.

"Natasha?" Darcy whispered. "I swear to god if you were turned into a cat I am going to slap you. But also, I'd be really jealous because how cool would that be?"

"Natasha?"

But the cat just looked at her with a bored expression.

"Okay. So, maybe not Natasha. Then, what's so special about you, huh?" The cat in her arms remained expressionless as Darcy looked her over as if she was hiding a deep dark secret.

Steve came over sitting down next to her, and Darcy looked up. Everyone had cleared out of the store, except for Thor and Bucky who were still enthralled by the animals.

Darcy continued to pet the cat when something caught on her fingers and she looked down. The collar around its neck had fallen off. Shoving the cat into Steve's arms, she bent a grabbed the collar, plucking a piece of paper out of the end. She elbowed Steve as she quickly unfolded the paper. Part of her thought this was all a training exercise. God knows, she had gone through enough of them. Natasha had her go through multiple staged kidnappings. She still slept with her taser and a baseball bat by her bed. This was no training exercise.

Alive. Fine. Two days. Noon. Central Park.

* * *

Darcy rubbed her face with a sigh and she rounded the corner into the common area, groaning at the sight of the still destroyed room.

Bruce stood in the middle of the room, his face blank as he took in the mess around them.

"Did we get attacked?"

Darcy shook her head with a yawn and dropped down onto one of the kitchen stools, dropping her head onto the counter. Her headache was still throbbing. Sometimes she wasn't sure how she survived day to day life with the Avengers. It was kinda like working with a classroom full of 3-year-olds. Actually, it was exactly like a group of 3-year-olds.

"Mario Kart."

Bruce hummed understandingly. This sadly hadn't been the first occurrence, "Ah. The couch?"

"Tony dared Steve to try one of his Iron Man blasters. He has really shitty aim."

Bruce shook his head and walked out of the room, mumbling to himself.

Not lifting her head from the cool granite counter, she called out, "Loki!"

"You summoned?"

Darcy pushed herself up and blurrily looked at Loki. Her eyes narrowed as she took in his dirt covered appearance but knowing better than to mention it she brushed it off, "We got a message from Natasha. She's alright. Sorry for calling you for no reason."

"I will take any excuse to visit. I have missed you. It is boring using my magic on people without my partner."

"Speaking of your Harry Potter skills," Darcy gestured to the demolished room. "Would you mind?"

Loki rolled his eyes and waved his hand, everything flying back to its rightful place, the destroyed pieces fixed under his careful eye.

"That will never get old."

"One last trick before I go?"

Darcy smiled.

* * *

Fury patted down his singed suit glaring at the man and woman in front of him.

Loki pointed to an innocent looking Darcy, "She made me do it!"

Darcy scoffed, "No, I didn't."

"Yes, she did! Don't you deny it."

"Alright, maybe I did, but you didn't have to do it!"

"And let you do it yourself and get all the credit, no way!"

Tony groaned, "God no. It's like minion one and minion two, I can't take it anymore."

"I knew your mischief ways weren't behind you, doll."

"Leave the premises right now or you will become a permanent guest in our prison."

* * *

Darcy slipped out of her bathroom. It had been a long day and all she could think about was burrowing under her covers with a 24-chapter fanfiction.

Shaking out her wet hair, she shivered as she walked over to her bedroom door.

"Ms. Lewis, Mr. Barnes is waiting in your room."

"Thanks, j-man."

Darcy slipped through the door finding Bucky, reclined on her bed against her mountain of pillows, staring confused at his phone. Tony had set him up with one but he was still having a little difficulty with some of the features. He figured out texting pretty quickly. But the photos and apps were slow learning.

Bucky threw a quick smile at her before focusing back on his phone, "She's back. I have to go, Shuri. Thanks for checking up. I will send you a letter if anything comes up."

"A message."

"Goodnight Shuri."

"It is morning."

"Shuri."

Laughter echoed through the phone, "Goodbye, Sergeant Barnes."

Darcy slid into bed next to Bucky, curling up alongside him. His arm wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Shuri?"

"Do you know T'Challa?"

"King Kitty? Yep. We bonded over our love of cats."

Bucky held back his laughter remembering when Sam asked if T'Challa liked cats, "Well Shuri is his younger sister. She is the one who helped fix me."

Darcy's brows furrowed, "Fix you? You weren't broken."

Bucky looked away, smiling painfully, "Well you may not see it that way, but I was under Hydra's control. If I had met you before her, I probably would have run far far away. To keep you safe."

Darcy growled, reaching out to turn his face back to hers, "And I would have chased you to the end of the world. You're mine. Or have you forgotten already?"

Bucky smiled and ran a hand down the side of her face, his thumb brushing across her cheek.

Darcy leaned forward, her forehead resting against Bucky's, when a shiver rocked through her body, breaking up their moment. Bucky sat up and pulled off his sweatshirt, handing it over to Darcy who thankfully slid it on, breathing in his scent and cuddling into its warmth.

Bucky's hands began running through her wet hair as he unknotted it. Darcy closed her eyes and leaned back as he began to braid her hair. After a few moments, he held out a hand and she passed him a hair tie. After he tied off her hair, she rolled over burrowing into his side.

She mumbled something into his chest and he laughed, "Can't exactly hear you when you're clinging to me like a koala bear, doll."

Darcy grumbled, before looking up at Bucky, "You're really cute and it's ruining my life because all I can think about is kissing you all the time."

His hand reached up to cup her face, his thumb brushing gently against her lower lip, "Doll, you can kiss me anytime you like."

And they both leaned in slowly, meeting in the middle.

His lips touched hers gently. And without a moment's hesitation, Darcy pressed back, her lips soft but unyielding against his. A soft sigh tore from her mouth as he deepened the kiss, his arms coming up to wrap tightly around her. His metal arm snaked around her back under her shirt, causing a shiver to shudder through her body, while the other rose to weave into her hair, pulling her even closer to him.

Darcy pulled her face away with a gasp, her eyes meeting his, a smile growing on his lips as he leaned in once again. Her eyes snapped closed with a sigh when she felt him pepper kisses along her jaw.

And Darcy knew in that moment that her whole life was about to change. She didn't know what to make of it or what was going to happen in the future, but she knew that with Bucky everything would be okay.

Bucky pulled back, pressing a gentle kiss against Darcy's forehead, before pulling her close to him once more as they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry it's been a while guys life is crazy plus I'm going to Poland in two weeks so I've been planning that! But I love all of you and I'm writing when I find time. This chapter was giving me issues, which makes no sense because it ended up almost 4000 words but please let me know how you guys like it! Love you guys!


	6. Love is in the air wait that's gun smoke

**Author's notes** : Back from Poland! I loved it so much I didn't want to leave but here's a new chapter hope you guys enjoy! Sorry it's been a million years. Traveling. Adult life. I turned 23 so that's fun. Now grad school. I don't even know. Life is crazy. Hope you enjoy!

People that live in the Tower: Darcy, Steve, Bucky, Tony, Pepper, Jane, Thor, Natasha, Sam, Clint, Bruce, Jarvis counts and (Loki has a room when he wants it) (Pietro, Wanda, and Vision live in apartment nearby) (T'Challa and the rest are in Wakanda obvi)

* * *

 _Why does he always smell so good?_

The man wrapped around her back chuckled and Darcy let out a groan, "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah, doll."

Darcy rolled over, facing Bucky, burrowing herself into his chest. His metal hand rubbed up and down her back under her shirt, the coolness causing her to sigh. She had woken up early in the morning with a minor case of heat stroke, and after elbowing Bucky in the nose, she had stripped from Bucky's delicious smelling sweater in favor of a tank top. But she did have delicious smelling Bucky himself instead of his sweater, which was better, "I should be embarrassed but you smell like a mix of leather, books, and cookies."

"That's an odd mix."

Darcy smiled as Bucky tightened his grip around her and pulled her even closer, "It's what I imagine my Amortentia to smell like."

"Am-what?"

Darcy pulled away, her eyes wide as her hand grabbed his chin, "You're a wizard Bucky. Put Harry Potter on your list please."

Bucky leaned down and he pressed a kiss to her hair as he made an affirmative noise. The couple stayed burrowed into each other for a few seconds, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning until a small beeping broke through the silence. Darcy's head popped up as she squinted her eyes blurrily at the clock on the nightstand, the letters shining together.

"What time does that say?"

"Ten?"

"What!?" Darcy shot up, accidentally elbowing Bucky in the stomach as she threw her body over his, scrambling to grab the clock, holding it an inch away from her face.

 _10:32AM_

"No no no no no no no no. Oh god, he's gonna kill me."

A loud banging sounded at her apartment door, "Darcy! Open the fuck up!"

Darcy squeaked loudly and she threw the clock across the room before clambering over Bucky once again. She dove under the covers, pulling Bucky with her. As he began to protest, Darcy straddled him, placing her hand across his mouth, shushing him.

The knocking sounded louder and Bucky moved to get out of bed, but Darcy wrapped herself around him like a koala, preventing his escape. He grunted as her legs wrapped tight around his waist.

"What do you want Clint?!" Darcy shouted causing Bucky to wince.

"Fury wants to talk to you!"

"What the fuck?" Darcy mumbled peaking her head out from under the covers, "Tell him I'm busy and to fuck off."

"He's standing right here. He says to get your ass off of Bucky and get out here."

"Back off pirate man. We'll debrief in the afternoon. And Bucky's ass is on me not the other way around."

Bucky threw her a startled glance but she just smiled before licking him on the nose.

Fury's frustrated voice flowed through the door, "Ms. Lewis, you very well know I have the override code to every door."

"Unless you want to see the very scandalous position Bucky and I are in, I hope you reconsider. And don't forget I still have enough information to blackmail your ass. Or did you forget about that? How about I tell everyone about that time I saw you dancing around wearing a s-"

Fury coughed, "Right. Yes. See you in the afternoon."

"Wait, I want to know this sensitive information!" Clint screamed.

"Go away Clint! I'll tell you later."

"Ugh fine."

* * *

After being interrupted by Clint and Fury, Darcy and Bucky laid silently next to each other, trying to enjoy their last few peaceful moments of the day.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Fury wants me to go on missions again." Bucky whispered.

Darcy waited as silence stretched between them.

"And you don't want to go?"

Bucky shrugged, "Even when I first enlisted, I never wanted to go to war. I've never been built for this life. I just felt like it was my duty. And then I swore to follow Steve to the ends of the earth. And then Hydra. This isn't the life I imagined for myself."

Darcy rolled over and reached out running her fingers across his cheek, "So what did you want to be when you were a kid?"

Bucky paused before smiling and Darcy began to run her finger through his hair as he reminisced wistfully, "I was always into science. I remember going to Howard Stark's science convention right before enlisting. I thought it was amazing, I was a huge science nerd."

Darcy smiled, "Then why don't you ask Tony if you can help around his lab?"

Bucky rolled his eyes, "You can't be serious."

"I'm not serious. I am Darcy. And yes I am serious."

* * *

"FATHER-MAN I HAVE A PADAWAN FOR YOU."

"I swear to fucking god Lewis if you brought another fucking porg into my lab, we are going to have words."

"No sir! I swear this Padawan is a true man."

"Fine."

Darcy rounded the corner, dragging a miserable looking Bucky by the hand, "So, padre, Bucky here was interested in some stuff."

Tony turned around in surprise and met Bucky's nervous eyes. Tony's gaze drifted over to Darcy and her eyes pleaded with him not to fight her on this until she explained.

Turning back to his workbench, he waved him over and Darcy pushed Bucky forward. Bucky stumbled slightly before walking slowly...but surely over to Tony. Never having seen the man stumble, he must have been really nervous. Bucky stepped up and Tony pushed some stuff into his hands and plopped him into a chair.

Darcy smiled as she watched Bucky begin to ask Tony questions and Tony answered them all seriously, showing him what he was working on.

* * *

" _I just want an answer."_

" _I don't have an answer."_

 _Tony sighed, "But come on. I mean why is James spelled with "s"? Why is it plural? More than one Jame. How many James?"_

* * *

Darcy flopped back down onto Bucky's bed with a sigh, "Fury wants me to go on the mission to meet Natasha tomorrow."

Bucky's eyes narrowed, "Alone?"

Darcy nodded, her eyes closed as she rubbed roughly against her head, a migraine forming behind her eyes. Her day had been long. Once she had dropped Bucky off at Tony's lab, Fury had demanded her presence. And being with that man for more than a few minutes at a time was torture. Especially when he was in ultra-spy-mode. Groaning at the pounding in her head, she pressed down hard on her forehead hoping to stop the pain. She felt Bucky swat her hands away and his own gentle, surprisingly soft ones rubbed gently over her forehead in a soothing manner.

"You're not going alone." His voice was rough and Darcy squinted up at him.

"I can take care of myself."

Bucky's eyes darkened, "I know you can, doll. But you're not going alone. If Hydra is there they won't hold back."

Darcy sat up, pushing his hand away, "Bucky, we've been through this."

"You don't know what they're like." Bucky reached out to her, but once again Darcy swatted his hand away and stood up her eyes blazing.

"I don't know what they're like?! Are you fucking kidding me? They had me in their clutches for days. They tortured me. Do you think they just sat me down and gave me tea? I know they're not something to fuck with."

Bucky's eyes flashed and he took a step toward her, but she just held up her hand.

" _No_."

"Doll. Look at me." His voice cracked.

Darcy turned her back to him, her body tense. Bucky's stomach dropped as he swallowed knowing he had fucked up.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried. You have to know that."

* * *

Darcy sunk low in her seat wishing she was still in her comfortable bed instead of the conference room. She pillowed her head on her arms as she rested against the table, Bucky beside her the only one alert. She was still mad at him, even though she knew where he was coming from. She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye and watched as his gaze snapped away from her and back toward Coulson, who was lecturing at the head of the table.

Darcy sighed, her eyes closing. The rest of team was clearly thinking the same thing as her as half of them were asleep and the other half on the verge. Thor was using Mjolnir as a pillow. Clint's feet were propped up in Bruce's lap, his head resting against Jane, who was quietly snoring in her seat. Tony's face was plastered flat against the glass table. She wondered how much the tabloids would pay to know that he drooled a lot. Steve's head was propped up on his fist, his eyes closing a little too long to be just blinks. The only person missing was Sam, who was still in bed. That fucker.

Phil had dragged the team out of bed to plan for meeting Natasha in a few hours. Fury wanted to send Darcy in alone, but the team wasn't okay with that. So now, Coulson was in charge of the new plan which included all of the Avengers. The only problem was it was 3 am.

Everything was going fine, fine as in Coulson was lecturing as everyone continued sleeping and ignoring him.

As Darcy began to doze, she felt a hand rub hesitantly up and down her back. She stiffened a little before looking over at Bucky.

" _I'm sorry_." He mouthed.

Darcy shook her head, "I'm sorry too."

She scooted her chair closer to his, Coulson glaring at her as the chair groaned against the floor. She stuck her tongue out at him and leaned against Bucky, his hand drawing random designs against her side as she half-listened to Coulson's rambling.

The hours passed, yet somehow the team was still stuck in the conference room. Darcy had no idea what was going on, Coulson seemed to be talking about ferrets? Or maybe parrots? It was too early for this. Bucky's metal hand ran over her hair and she mumbled wishing for quiet.

But her wish didn't come true as an alarm blared loudly throughout the room.

Tony lifted his head slowly, red marks all over his face as he mumbled, "Another break in?"

Clint rolled his eyes, before curling back up against Jane, "This is the fifth one this week."

Darcy sat up with a wide smile and held out her hands, "Haha fuckers! Hand it over! I knew there was going to be another break-in before the end of the month."

"Ms. Lewis. Could you please be more professional."

Darcy snorted, "I happen to be very professional, excuse you very much."

Coulson's eyebrow shot up in disbelief.

Darcy smirked, "I'm always aggressively thinking about having sex with Bucky and I'm able to keep a straight face at the same time. Do you know how hard that is? The fact that I'm not always talking about jumping his bones during work hours, is a feat. And nah uh oh. This does not count. It is three fucking am."

"Leave now." Coulson rubbed the bridge of his nose aggressively.

"Can't we're on lockdown."

Coulson glared at her and she smiled widely at him. He let out a sigh before stalking across the room, muttering to himself about how was this his life.

* * *

The team remained relaxed as the alarm sounded loudly. Break-ins had been happening so frequently, it had become a typical occurrence. Nothing out of the ordinary until a broadcast came through.

"Turn over the Winter Soldier's soulmate and we will leave."

Darcy's face went slack as everyone's gaze shot to her in horror. Bucky's face was white as a sheet. Without a word, he shot from his seat and was out the door before anyone could move. Darcy blinked, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the closed door.

She swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Well, I guess Hydra is back on its kidnapping kick for me?"

Jane moved over to the empty chair beside Darcy and grabbed her hand, "How did they found out he has a soulmate? Do we still have a spy in SHIELD?"

Darcy smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes, "No, don't worry Jane. I'm sure it's nothing."

Steve shot to his feet, his finger flying to his ear, as a faint voice sounded out in the silent room. Darcy's grip on Jane's hand tightened as she watched the alarm on his face. Steve knocked Clint's feet off of Bruce, nudged Tony, and asked Jarvis to call Sam "We're needed at the front. Suit up. Meet me there in five."

The rest of the Avengers rushed out of the room, telling Jane and Darcy to stay put and lock down the room like they always did.

Jarvis turned on the radio that connected to the team's earpieces and Jane and Darcy huddled around it as they listened to the team make their way to their positions.

" _Tony on your right, five guys."_

" _Sam, Bucky is around the corner, go help him."_

" _Steve, we have a problem over here."_

" _I have visual, Clint, hold out we'll be there soon."_

Darcy's heart was in her throat as she listened.

" _Tony, level 30, now. They have Bucky."_

Darcy shot up and Jane grabbed her arm, "You can't."

"I can't do nothing."

"Darcy! No!"

But she was gone. Jane's heart sank as the door once again slammed shut. She was safe. But Darcy wasn't. Jane looked down at the radio and knew what she had to do.

"Clint..."

* * *

Darcy shot down the hall. She was almost there. Her feet slipped on the ground as she rounded the corner. She slammed into a desk and pushed off it vaulting herself into the center of the room. Hydra agents littered the floor in front of her. There was at least a dozen of them. With Bucky in the middle of them all.

Tony had his blaster trained on them, but he wouldn't be able to hit them without hitting Bucky too. Bucky was struggled against the Hydra agents hold but froze as a gun was shoved against his temple.

"Stop!"

The whole room froze.

Everybody turned to face her as she continued walking toward the Hydra agents. Her gaze locked with Bucky's as his face dropped with horror. Tony flew over, landing at her side, trying to place himself in front of her. But she just moved around him, throwing him a stern glare as she stalked closer to the Hydra agents.

"I'll go with you. Just let him go."

The Hydra agents watched her cautiously, but within a second an agent shoved Bucky into the wall, whacking his gun across his face. Bucky slammed to the ground with a groan. A few agents surrounded him, keeping him on the ground as he struggled to get up. Another agent grabbed Darcy roughly forcing her to stand surrounded by agents.

"No!" A shout sounded from behind her and Darcy's heart sank.

Everybody was helpless as they watched the Hydra agents lead her away, their guns trained on Darcy. She would never forget the first time a gun had been aimed at her. She had never known true terror until that moment. You would think after all these years and all the kidnappings she would be used to it. But feeling the barrel of a gun pressed against her back was not a reassuring feeling. Darcy walked slowly with her head up, two Hydra agents on her sides, their fingers digging deep into her arms.

A loud whistle blew throughout the ungodly quiet room and Darcy dropped to the ground like dead weight.

An electric burst shot out and all the Hydra agents were shocked, their weapons dropping to the ground as their bodies shook and then finally collapsed.

Darcy jumped up and brushed off her now dirty shirt with a smile as Clint dropped down beside her. She turned and high-fived him, "I knew our plan would work! See you were doubting me. We've been planning this for years. I had it all ironed out."

"I believe you now. Thank you for dropping on cue this time."

"Thank Tony for updating my taser."

Tony snorted as he landed down beside her, his eyes running up and down her figure ensuring that she hadn't been injured, "Well, you kept feeling the need to defend yourself against guns with a taser so I figured it was the least I could do."

Darcy watched as Clint's gaze flitted to behind her, his eyes growing wide and alarmed. Darcy's face screwed up as she dreaded turning around.

"Uh oh. Mad soulmate?"

Clint grimaced, "Furious soulmate."

* * *

" _You can't tell me what to do."_

" _I'm your soulmate."_

" _Oh hO HO. Does that make you in charge of me?!"_

" _I just don't want you hurt!"_

" _News flash this is my job."_

" _You ran headfirst toward Hydra!"_

" _No, I ran headfirst toward you! And I would do it again!"_

" _No, you won't!"_

" _Try me buster!"_

* * *

Steve sat down beside Darcy.

"I'm mad at him."

There was a beat of silence before Steve began to speak, "You know I've known Bucky since we were children. You remind me a lot of myself. Eager. Always jumping into danger. Sometimes without thinking. Sometimes with thinking. Just know that he cares. So much. He just wants you safe."

Darcy scowled, "But I'm not gonna be safe in this field of work. He can't keep me in a padded room forever. I know how to fight. I can shoot. I've been kidnapped. Tortured. Everything. I'm not a doll."

Steve smiled sadly, "No, but you are _his doll_."

Darcy glared at him.

Steve nudged her shoulder, "Just don't stay too mad at him. He just wants you safe. Just remember that. He's not trying to control you. And don't let him push you away. He's going to realize now that people are going to come after you because of him. And he's going to try to make you stay away from him."

* * *

Darcy's fist slammed repeatedly on Bucky's door until he finally opened it, "Wha—doll?"

Darcy poked him in the chest hard, "You are not allowed to pull away from me. I don't care if you think you're bad for me or if you think I'm in danger because of you, but I'm not going anywhere and if you try to run I will hunt you down. But I am still pissed at you so I'm gonna go but if you vanish just know I will have Jarvis kick your ass."

And then like a storm she was gone and Bucky stood confused in his doorway. Steve passed by the door with a smile.

"She sure is something, Buck."

"I don't know if I'm worth all this."

"Mr. Barnes, Ms. Lewis stated if you said anything self-deprecating to relay this message to you, " _Shut your pretty model face up, you are worth so much. Especially to me_."

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Annnnnnd finish. That chapter took way too long to write. I literally can't believe it's been months. Apologies again I feel like I haven't slept in like four months because I've been so busy but I'm still writing I promise :D I love you all!

Next up: Natasha and Darcy...some throwbacks to their relationship and Bucky and Darcy have a legit heart to heart


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